Ann, Sailors would have a burial in the church nearest to where their bodies were washed ashore. If you look at the coastal parishes of Northumberland, for example, there are a lot of burials like this, sometimes the bodies are identified, otherwise they are listed as "unknown". If a wreck has occurred close by then the name of the ship and its port is recorded. Not very helpful if you are looking for a death unless you have an idea of which ship they were on! Perhaps a listing of all such burials might be a good volunteer project, equivalent to census strays! If you are really lucky, the National Maritime Memorial website might have a name listed. Best wishes, Janet Rice -----Original Message----- From: dur-nbl-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:dur-nbl-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Ann Sent: 08 March 2011 08:02 To: dur-nbl@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] DUR-NBL Digest, Vol 6, Issue 30 Good Morning everyone, Lovely sunny morning here in Warwickshire, but very cold and very frosty! And here I am as usual exercising my brain about Family History. I have found a number of relatives who were sailors, and just disappeared in between censuses. Thomas Rutherford b c 1790, of South Shields, disappeared after 1829. His wife, Jane, had their last child in September 1829, He was a shipwright. This is an exception because I do know what happened:- Elizabeth Raffle married John Wade in 1844, and I know from a tombstone that in 1844 he drowned in the River Tyne. He too was a shipwright. I can't find the death of George/Thomas Ripppn, a sailor, who disappeared between 1851 and 71. He was married to Ann Raffle. (Ann Raffle married a second time to Robert Wilson, the widower of her sister, Elizabeth, That took me by surprise, but as I can't find a record for this perhaps they went to Newcastle for a day 1871 - 81 and pretended they got married) According to the affinity tables such a marriage is legal And my last mystery with this this family is the disappearance of John Brown, a sailor, between 1864 and 71. Hi wife was Margaret Raffle. Is there a register of men lost at sea from Tyneside shipping. If a man was lost at sea, was there a funeral, or memorial service, or a tombstone ( as in the case of John Wade, who is mentioned on a Raffle tomb). Or any memorial / list at all? Curious Ann Lavery ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== To Post a message to this list send it to, DUR-NBL-L@rootsweb.com ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== List Web Page http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/durhamgenealogy/index.phtml ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DUR-NBL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message